River's Run
by Doctor-River
Summary: - Between chapters 3 and 4 of 'Apologies.' What would've happened in the Library if River had forgotten about the Doctor, if he had wiped all of her memory of him?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I decided to call this story 'River's Run' because that is what 'Forest of the Dead' was initially going to be called before Steven Moffat changed it and because my story is mainly about River and it is also my version of 'Forest of the Dead.' **

**This story is set between chapters 3 and 4 of 'Apologies' so if you would like to read that story first then it is advised.**

**I thought of this story when I was writing 'Apologies' and it came to me when the Doctor was blaming himself for River's misfortunes and he started to wonder what her life would be like if she forgot about him, if the Doctor made her forget ever meeting him. So, here is my portrayal of what would've happened in the Library if River forgot the Doctor. **

Professor River Song was just an ordinary 51st century Professor going on an expedition to a not so ordinary place- The Library...

The Library, a planet with every book ever written stored on the shelves. It was always a very popular place to go and read, the sights were breathtaking and the buildings were so elegantly decorated. The Library was teaming with many races looking for a good book until something happened. Exactly one hundred years ago people started going missing 4,022 people to be precise and the Library had fallen silent ever since- an emergency evacuation had saved many other people.

Keen archaeologists had been investigating the disappearances of all of the people and all the data records state is: '4,022 people saved. No survivors.' It doesn't make sense and as soon as River Song got involved, the perfect expedition had been planned to further analyse the disappearances.

Her colleagues coming along with her are: Anita- her loyal best friend, Proper Dave- the obedient pilot, Other Dave- the light-hearted theorist, Miss Evangelista- the underestimated assistant and Mr Lux- the hot-headed expedition leader. River's students always looked up to her; the four of them saw her as a role model- fearless, determined and talented. Mr Lux was proud to work alongside her on various expeditions.

As the ship neared the Library, all of the archaeologists waited with held breath. This was the biggest assignment that the students have embarked on.

Proper Dave removed his hands from the console of the ship and turned to his fellow explorers with a smile on his face. River returned the smile and she rose from her seat and reached for the door. As her hand reached the handle Miss Evangelista rose from her chair.

"Wait!" she called out to River. "...Environment checks." Were the words that came from her bright red lips.

"Newbies... Gotta' love 'em!" Proper Dave smirked to Anita. She smiled in agreement,

River rolled her eyes at the typical precautious Miss Evangelista. Other Dave typed in some details on the computer. "Air is breathable and non-toxic. Time is late afternoon." He read off the screen with a sigh at the end.

"So it's definitely safe?" Anita clarified as she paced slowly to the door. She didn't fancy suffocating today...

"Yes..." Other Dave replied and he stood and walked over to the door with the others.

River opened the door and she led the others outside the ship. The Library was silent, eerie and ever so creepy. "Do you know what, Professor Song, I sometimes wonder why I am in charge here when you just take over and make your own rules anyway!" Mr Lux's voice echoed and disturbed the perfectly preserved silence of the Library. Mr Lux always had to find something to complain about even if it was totally irrelevant.

River spun around and grinned. She took a step closer to Mr Lux "Well... some have it." She said and flicked her curly pony-tail behind her shoulder. "And others... don't." She cheekily added. Anita smirked behind Mr Lux and followed River to the main foyer of the Biographies section.

"Oi, this expedition was my idea so I should get to lead it!" he snapped back.

"Well then, lead the way..." River smiled as she stepped aside.

"No one's stopping you." Anita added siding with her best friend.

"Um... this way team." Mr Lux pointed his finger down one corridor. Miss Evangelista and the Daves started to head in the direction in which Mr Lux was indicating.

"...You sure about that?" River asked, sounding rather smug. She raised her eyebrows in a confident manner. The three other archaeologists froze at River's remark, listening to what she had to say.

"Of course I am Professor Song!" Mr Lux stood in the middle of the dark corridor, his white suit made him more visible in the shadowy halls. He was lying to make himself still seem in charge.

"Do you doubt Mr Lux, Professor Song?" Miss Evangelista decided to get involved.

The others just blanked her for a moment.

"Where does that way lead anyway?" Anita asked River.

"The Shop... then the exit." River grinned. "...See? I bothered to study the floor plans of the Library before we came, so don't you think I should lead?" River questioned.

Mr Lux sighed; he knew that the floor plans for an entire planet of buildings would've taken a lot of time to study! He stood aside reluctantly and let River take charge.

"Thank you..." River patted Mr Lux's shoulder. "Now then, if we go this way..." River pointed in the opposite direction to Mr Lux's directions. "We will end up at the entrance foyer and reception area to the Biographies. We go there and find out what's what. I'll brief you when we get there..." River started walking down the quiet, dingy corridor. The others followed like a herd of sheep, unsure who should really be in charge.

River pushed open a set of double wooden doors at the end of the corridor and entered a large hall that had various bookshelves, tables and chairs and a computer. The late afternoon sunlight shone through the glass ceiling and lit up the centre of the hall. Proper Dave hunted out a flashlight and held it up to scan the rest of the dark room.

Anita started looking down the rows of bookshelves to see if she could spot anything. Meanwhile, Miss Evangelista stood by Mr Lux and she was taking some notes on a clip board.

Other Dave walked over to one of the computers and he began typing on the dusty keyboard. "Hey guys, come and check this out..." he said over his shoulder.

The others all approached with curiosity growing. "Look at this. It says that there are billions of other life forms on this planet, so many that the system crashes." He explained as the numbers kept rising in the billions until it came up with 'System Error.'

"Check for other humans..." Mr Lux suggested.

"But why would there be other humans here? They were all evacuated." Anita pointed out.

"You never know... they could've avoided evacuation, or they could be other explorers." Mr Lux replied. "Continue, Other Dave..."

Other Dave obeyed and ordered the computer to search for humans. "5.5 humans present."

"But that's impossible. How can there only be 0.5 of a human?" Proper Dave asked.

"I don't know... Let's scan the registrations." Other Dave was too puzzled by this discovery.

And as Other Dave began the scan one by one the pictures of each human present came up. Other Dave: 100% human, Proper Dave: 100% human, Miss Evangelista: 100% human, Anita: 100% human, Mr Lux: 100% human and River Song: 50% human 50%... The system crashes again. 'Failure to register classification.' The computer screen read.

"What? But... how is that possible, how can I only be half human?" River questioned, worried and angered. She always looked human and always felt human, this news made her feel different and ill she didn't feel 'normal' anymore. River must be part of a metacrisis but, what could the other 50% of her DNA be?

**A/N: With a little thought, I'm sure you'll figure it out, before I post it! ;) **


	2. Chapter 2

As River began to ponder over her mysterious identity the others continued their investigations. Just then, the computer screen started to flicker and turn snowy.

"What's going on?" Proper Dave questioned looking over Other Dave's shoulder.

"I... don't know, it just started to turn snowy." He took his fingers away from the keyboard and watched the screen. He tapped the top of the monitor with his hand gently. As the screen began to clear up, a little brunette haired girl wearing purple appeared on the screen.

"Hello there." Other Dave said.

"Hello?" the girl was confused. "What are you doing on my T.V?" she inched closer to the screen out of curiosity.

Other Dave looked at the other archaeologists. River stepped forwards as she was technically in charge. "Um... we don't know... This signal must have intercepted with your television satellite..." River said.

"You're in the Library?" the girl said as her eyes scanned the surroundings of the people on her T.V screen. "How did you get into my Library, it's never been on T.V before?"

The monitor started to go snowy again and the girl began to fade away. The screen started to return to the Library database. In the top left corner of the screen were the letters 'CAL.'

"CAL? What is CAL?" Other Dave questioned himself. His face was screwed up in thought as he pondered in his mind.

"Who was that?" Anita asked.

"This is just really weird..." Proper Dave sighed. "People popping up from out of nowhere... after thousands have gone missing."

After a moment of silence, a book flew off one of the shelves and across the hallway, followed by another and another. The archaeologists craned their necks towards the thud that the books made.

"What the bloody Hell is going on here?" River questioned. Her head turning in all directions so she could avoid all of the projectile books flying across the room.

Proper Dave sighed. "This better not be a practical joke!"

"I don't really fancy hearing the punch-line!" River mocked.

"...Duck!" Mr Lux yelled as he knelt down to protect himself.

"Well, this sure isn't funny!" Anita snapped back at Proper Dave's outburst as she dodged a book that had been hurled across the room.

In all of the hassle, Miss Evangelista had wondered to the side of the room to shield herself when a door slowly opened. She jumped out of shock and turned on her feet. "Guys!" she called out over the thudding books and all of the screaming and shouting. "...Guys! This could be important!" she called out again, no one had heard her. She sighed and walked over to the door and stepped through.

The room that she was standing in was a smaller, darker room with many tables and chairs; it was almost completely dark apart from a few small windows that let in minimal light. She looked around the empty room and as she stepped in further her footsteps echoed around the hall. As she turned around, her eyes wondered to the floor and she noticed something that didn't quite make sense, and then...

A loud, high-pitched scream rampaged through the corridors of the eerie Library. The books had stopped flying around the hall which the other archaeologists were in.

"That was a scream." Proper Dave stated. "... Miss Evangelista!" he gasped as his eyes scanned the room to see who was missing. He rose to his feet, his eyes still scanning for Miss Evangelista just in case he had missed her the first time he looked.

"There! That passageway wasn't there before, I'm sure of it." Mr Lux pointed to the door on the other side of the hall as he emerged from under one of the wooden tables in the centre of the room.

River grabbed a flashlight and ran towards the door; the others followed her lead.

As River entered the hidden room, she froze for a second for the others to catch up. Her gaze was fixated on the item in the middle of the room- a skeleton. She held her breath for a moment; this was not what she was expecting to see.

"But, this is where the scream came from, Miss Evangelista's scream." Proper Dave sighed.

"...So, where is she?" Anita asked.

River raised her hand and pressed the button on the intercom on her suit. "Miss Evangelista, please state your current..." she paused. Her voice was echoing, more so than that of just being in an empty room. River glanced at the others, her green eyes showed concern and worry, she assumed the worst but she needed to clarify her assumptions. "... Miss Evangelista, please state your current..." River noticed something on the skeleton; she leaned over the skeleton and retrieved the object. "...position..." she finished as her voice echoed from her object in her hand. She opened her closed hand and it was an intercom, like the ones the others had on their suits.

Proper Dave stepped closer to the skeleton and the others inched in closer behind him. Anita leaned over River's shoulder and looked at the object in River's hand. "...It's her..." River whispered with a heavy sigh of shock.

"But, it can't be. We heard her scream just a few seconds before we came in here. What could've done that in a few seconds?" Anita was baffled.

"Something I don't want to meet in a dark alley- that's for sure!" Other Dave sarcastically replied.

"We have a dead woman here; please... show a little respect." River said in a quiet yet slightly agitated voice. She turned her head to Other Dave and raised her eyebrows at him. He responded by moving his hands in line with his head in a 'surrender' manner and he stood quietly when River turned her head back to the skeleton.

"Whatever that thing was that killed Miss Evangelista could be the killer of the other 4,022 people... and it's still here, but where?" Mr Lux thought.

"But, it said that they were '_saved'_..." Other Dave pointed out.

"And it also said '_no_ _survivors.'_" Mr Lux argued.

"But, where are the bodies... I mean if it did kill the other people?" Proper Dave got involved.

"Yeah, they can't have all deteriorated completely in one hundred years..." Anita added.

Other Dave looked over to River who stood frozen still with the intercom in her hand. "...Any thoughts, Professor Song?" he asked.

River's eyes wondered to the floor. She noticed a shadow that was being cast by... nothing and then she realised what it was...

"I... I think I know what killed Miss Evangelista. I've only read about it in books, but it seems to apply here... Well, I looked into something awhile ago I found out about 'The Hungry Shadows', 'The Deadly Darkness' or whatever other nicknames it had. But, it's commonly known as 'The Vashta Nerada.'... Millions, or in this possible case billions of tiny spores that devour the flesh of its victim in mere seconds..." River explained. "Look there, at that shadow." River shone her flashlight on the mysterious shadow. "It's being cast by nothing, that's because it isn't a shadow... it's the Vashta Nerada."

"What do we do about it?" Anita asked. She was scared. "It could come and kill all of us at any moment if we don't do something."

"Avoid shadows, stay in the light!" River ordered, her tone was serious and forceful. "...In the mean time, everyone go back into the other hall, carefully... We still need to figure this mystery out of the missing people..."

The other archaeologists obeyed River's orders and returned to the other room. River was the last to leave, her flashlight gliding over the hallway, she was keeping an eye out to make sure she didn't step into any shadows.

"Hey, do you think that little girl was one of the 4,022 that disappeared?" Proper Dave broke the silence.

"How'd you figure that one out?" Anita quizzed his theory.

"...I don't know, it's just a thought." He shrugged his shoulders.

"It really does make you think... how precious life is, huh?" Other Dave chuckled as he tried to change the subject.

"Can you please be _a little _more serious?" River called out from the hidden hallway. She heard the conversation echoing through the wooden halls.

Other Dave mouthed the word 'sorry' in a moody child-like manner.

"But this still doesn't make sense: '4,022 saved. No survivors.' How can the girl be one of the missing?" Mr Lux queried.

River entered the room with the others in. She stood in the doorway for a moment acknowledging Mr Lux's statement. "That's it!" she cried as she stepped further into the room.

"When someone is rescued, you don't say they're _saved_. You say they're _safe _unless you literally mean they're saved." She grinned.

"Saved... where?" Other Dave responded. He vaguely knew what River was implying.

River's eye glanced to the Library computer. "...The Library data core."

"That's brilliant, Professor Song!" Other Dave smiled as he shot up and started to search the data on the computer again. Anita followed him; she too was enlightened by this possible theory. But, there was a downfall...

"But, can we get those people out?" she wondered.

All of the smiling, hopeful faces fell to serious and mournful frowns. Mr Lux sighed and he turned to River, she seemed to have all of the answers.

"I don't know, Anita. But, we'll figure something out." River remained hopeful as always. She placed a comforting hand on Anita and Other Dave's shoulders. Her warm and welcoming smile could light up the whole Library.

Just then, her smile turned... her eyes wondered to the floor and she stared in shock at the sight out of the corner of her eye. She turned her neck to make sure it wasn't a trick of the light and she backed away from the pair at the monitor. "Oh god... I'm so, so sorry..." she whispered under her breath as she noticed two shadows coming from the same pair of feet...


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry if this chapter seems a bit short but, I promise a lot more will be coming soon if you just wait a little bit and I wanted to end this chapter on a suspenseful cliffhanger, so enjoy...**

"Oh, I'm so sorry..." River gasped.

"What?" Proper Dave asked. His eyes studied River's worried expression.

"Proper Dave... you've got two shadows..." River replied with a serious tone.

Proper Dave quickly turned his head to the floor by his feet. It was true, he had two shadows: one from the North-West of his body and the other from the North-East.

Anita grabbed something from the floor by her bag and handed Proper Dave his helmet and she tinted the visor with the press of a button. She frowned as she handed it to him, she didn't want any more deaths.

Proper Dave placed the helmet on his head and exhaled a shaky breath of fear.

"Whoa... hey, who turned out the lights?" Proper Dave joked as he tried to look through the darkened visor of his helmet. He wanted to lighten the mood before he died, always leave them laughing he often said.

The other's smiled. "I wish we could help..." Anita sighed as her smile fell, she was feeling useless. She crossed her arms and looked at the floor to Proper Dave's second shadow.

"Go..." Proper Dave said sternly.

"What?" River thought she had misheard.

"I said go. Leave me here; I don't want you all to die because of me... Get to the data core and stop the infestation and find the missing people, just leave me." Proper Dave heroically declared. Although, he regretted it so much but he couldn't stand letting his colleagues no, his friends die along with him.

River paused for a moment she shook her head.

"...Please..." Proper Dave begged.

"...Okay..." she finally spoke after a long silence and regretted saying it.

"But... Professor Song, we can't just leave him here!" Other Dave argued.

"I know we shouldn't... but we don't have any other choice." She snapped. "I'm sorry Dave." She whispered with a smile of good-bye.

"I know... But, the more of you who leave now, the more of you that are likely to go home alive. Oh, I would like to be buried next to Miss Evangelista's body if it's not too much trouble..."

River turned and walked out of the room with the other's following closely behind. She felt guilty but even more determined to solve the mystery of the Library in order to avenge her friends' deaths and save those who remain with her.

"We could've helped him..." Anita sighed as she followed River's brisk walking down a long corridor of bookshelves.

"No, we couldn't... the Vashta Nerada latch on to their prey and wait for the right moment before they feast... there's no way we could save him." River sounded serious. "...Now then, let's get to the data core."

"But what's the plan when we get there?" Mr Lux questioned.

River strode up to him and stood right in front of his face. "Listen here Mr Lux; I know that you think you can do a better job than me here but, if you keep quizzing me and testing my every move then we're more likely to die because I'd be too focussed on answering your ridiculous questions than trying to save us... None of my other colleagues question my every move like you do when ever you doubt my methods and as I don't try to put you off with constant questions at least do me the favour of shutting up from now on! Okay?" she snapped.

Mr Lux nodded his head silently looking intimidated by River's snapping.

"Oh, and to answer your _final_ question, if we can use the data core to download the Vashta Nerada to the hard drive of the Library's system then, we reset the hard drive and the Vashta Nerada will be no more. Their existence would have been erased." River replied. She turned around and tried to conceal her doubt of her plan.

A painful and blood-curdling scream violently hit the eardrums of the team of explorers as it echoed through the eerie halls of the Library.

"I think that was Proper Dave..." Other Dave mumbled miserably.

"...Sounds like the Vashta Nerada got to him." River frowned. "Let's keep moving." She exhaled heavily at the thought of losing another friend.

Mr Lux froze and he tried to listen carefully. His eye glanced to River, who had to stopped walking. Anita and Other Dave stopped walking, they following Mr Lux's example whether it was smart or stupid. "Can anyone else hear that thumping?" Mr Lux questioned, he was unable to identify the sound.

River then looked at the others; she had one finger pressed to her lips. "Sshhh..." she whispered. The corridor fell silent apart from the shallow breathing of the archaeologists and the thumping noise.

"...Footsteps... They sound like footsteps." Other Dave concluded.

"Right..." River agreed. "...But, what's making them?"

Anita widened her eyes in shock and realisation. Other Dave glanced at Mr Lux, then to River, then to each other. None of them were moving, let alone walking.

A muffled sound started to collide with the pounding of footsteps on the wooden floor. It grew louder and clearer...

"Hey, who turned out the lights?..."


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" the familiar voice echoed and repeated through the corridors.

The footsteps were getting louder as it neared the location of the archaeologists, almost as if it knew exactly where they were.

"That voice..." Mr Lux pondered.

"...It's Proper Dave!" Anita finished sounding shocked.

"But didn't he... die back in the study?" Other Dave pointed out quietly.

A small shadow started to emerge from the end of the corridor, behind the long bookcase. It slowly started to get bigger and the outline looked similar to one that they all knew.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" the voice replayed the same few words.

River stood motionless for a moment. Her eyes fixated on the end of the hallway, at the shadow. She glared at the empty space before her through her fearless attitude; she was ready to come face-to...face with her friends' killer.

Mr Lux began to inch further down the hallway hoping that his colleagues would follow his hint at fleeing. Other Dave saw Mr Lux's actions out of the corner of his eye and he was debating whether he should follow. He was teetering on the edge of his toes, caught in the middle of helping his friends, or saving his skin, literally!

"Professor Song?... River?" Anita questioned. She was concerned why her best friend stood motionless.

"Wait for it..." River strongly responded with a hint of rage. Her hand wondered to the side of her leg to her gun holster and she gripped onto the squareness gun that sat in it.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" an echo that grew louder with every account of the same phrase.

A white boot stepped out and into the same row of bookshelves as the others.

"Go... I'll catch up with you..." River heroically ordered as she pulled out the gun from her holster.

"But..." Anita stuttered. Mr Lux and Other Dave had already started fleeing.

"Come on Anita!" Other Dave called back. Anita sighed and reluctantly followed, she knew there was no point in putting up a fight with River. She began to run and Anita looked over her shoulder to see River marching towards the creature with her gun firmly in her hand and Anita felt a pain of guilt in her chest.

Mr Lux forced open a pair of double wooden doors at the end of the maze of bookcases and the three were outside on a balcony that led to various other rooms of the Library. It was a long stretch of concrete that overlooked the whole floor of this section. It was lit an amber-orange in the sunset that shone down on the right hand side. On the left, a long chain of doors that were entrances to other rooms such as studies, more books, computers and many more beyond anyone's imagination!

River stood anxiously for the creature to fully come out and face her as she avenged her friends' deaths; she wanted to be the last thing it sees before she killed it. The torso of the monster slowly came round the corner.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

"That's Proper Dave ghosting... I guess I'll be meeting his killer." She thought. Her grip tightened on her gun when she froze for a second. "Wait... if the Vashta Nerada had latched onto Proper Dave, then surely they would've killed him. So, what's coming here now?" she questioned, then re-focussed on the body that started to take shape in front of her. "Whatever it is... I'm gonna kill it!" she angrily vowed. "...And I'm gonna enjoy it!" her tone even angrier and serious.

There it was... The figure stood at the end of the hallway and it uneasily marched one large stride closer to River and the light change made its features clearer. It was a white suit, like hers and the ones that the other archaeologists were wearing. The visor was tinted and all she could see through it was black. Her eyes glanced to the intercom and one of the green lights was flickering.

"He's only just started ghosting..." River mumbled under her breath.

Her curious eyes focussed on the visor again, staring confused at it. The figure stepped forwards again with another wobble, almost as if it was drunk. The jerky movement had revealed something in the visor, a skull. But, not just a skull it was the skull of River's friend Proper Dave. He had been stripped of his flesh by the Vashta Nerada and they were able to manipulate movement inside the suit.

"...Oh god!" she breathed heavily. Her heart had frozen as she stared at the skeleton in shock.

Mr Lux led the others down the corridor and he chose a door at random to open. He shoved it open with his hand and peered around inside. A computer stood in the clean sunlight in the middle of the room; it was flashing green with a warning siren. Other Dave walked over to it watching the floor in case any unwanted shadows popped up.

He typed in some details on the keyboard and a new screen came up. "It's in sleep mode, almost as if it's dreaming..." he was puzzled.

"It is dreaming..." Mr Lux replied.

"What, how can a computer dream?" Other Dave questioned.

"Because CAL isn't a computer..." Mr Lux answered. He wondered over to a panel on the wall and he opened a small door on the side and he flipped a switch. A statue appeared in the corner of the room. The top turned around and mounded on the front was a face.

"_She's_ family..." he added. "Charlotte Abigail Lux, my grandfather's youngest daughter."

"It's the little girl..." Anita studied the face. "...But, why didn't you tell us this before?"

"I didn't think it was important..." Mr Lux looked down at the floor.

The warning siren came up on the computer screen again and immediately, the attention of all three archaeologists directly averted to the monitor...

The skeleton inched closer and closer to River. She was hesitant, she wasn't sure if her gun would have any effect on the Vashta Nerada.

She exhaled heavily and her finger had pulled the trigger and a blue square-shaped beam shot out from the barrel and hit the skeleton in its chest.

The impact of the gun blast had shaken the Vashta Nerada all around in the suit and they lost control of it. The suit stood shaking in the corridor as the hundreds of Vashta Nerada spores inside tried to regain mobility control of the suit in order to pursue the new meat.

This gave River time to flee and find the others... if they were still alive.


	5. Chapter 5

Other Dave studied the warning on the computer. His expression was puzzled as his mind was trying to figure out how to solve the newly acquired dilemma.

"What is it?" Anita asked as she approached. The screen was flashing green and a siren was beeping from the top of the computer.

"A ship... another ship is trying to land here without any clearance; they must be unaware of the Vashta Nerada." Other Dave replied. "We can't let it land here..."

Suddenly, a violent tremor shook the ground of the Library and nearly threw the archaeologists off balance. "...Now what?" Mr Lux mumbled.

The computer screen read 'Library Core Self-Destruct in 20:00 minutes.'

"That..." Other Dave called out in reply to Mr Lux's question.

"We never should've come here, too much trouble..." Anita sighed. "Wait a moment..." she pressed her ear against the varnished wooden door and listened.

Outside the room, there was a loud thud followed by a groan. Anita placed her hand on the door knob; she pushed it open and peered outside. She saw River regaining her balance after the tremor.

"River! In here, quickly!" she called out. Her hand was guiding River in the right direction.

River glanced over to the gap in between the door and the wall. She ran over to the door and stumbled inside and she frantically pulled the door closed behind her.

River smiled at the sight of seeing that they were still alive. She looked at them almost disbelievingly and breathed a sigh of relief. River stepped over and hugged Anita tightly, and then Other Dave followed by an awkward hug by Mr Lux. "You're all still alive!" she exhaled.

"But, we won't be for much longer unless we can stop this." Other Dave added as he pointed to the computer. River looked over his shoulder at the descending numbers on the screen. Then Other Dave flicked screens to show the ship that was trying to gain access to land.

"Okay, here's what we do. Someone has to board that ship through the teleport pad..." River began as she gestured over to the small green circle on the floor in the middle of the room."...then warn the people on the ship about the Vashta Nerada and the Library Self-Destruct. Meanwhile, the other's come with me to the core so we can stop this explosion, eliminate the Vashta Nerada and save the other 4,022 people trapped inside the data core!" she smiled. The plane sounded like it would be a success.

Mr Lux stepped forward. "I'll do it; it's about time I proved myself to you all." He admitted.

River smiled at him. "Thank you, Mr Lux." She spoke in a gentle tone.

She guided Mr Lux to the teleport pad and he stood in the centre. His posture was strong and masculine as he felt like the hero, the lives of everyone on that ship rested in his hands. Other Dave started typing in details on the computer. "Ready?" he asked. Mr Lux nodded in response. The man took one last glance at his colleagues before he was teleported. He was nervous as well as feeling heroic, how many lives were at risk on that ship- who knows? It was all up to Mr Lux to get those people to safety before it was too late.

"Good luck." Anita said.

"Time is of the essence..." River muttered.

As Other Dave typed in the last detail, a blue-green beam of light surrounded the teleport pad and Mr Lux started to slowly fade away.

"As soon as he's on the ship, we move out and to the Library core." River reminded the others of the plan. She clasped her slender hands together out of anxiety.

Anita nodded as she watched the computer screen, anticipation and worry struck her. But, she tried to remain confident that the plan would work, after all it was River's idea and she was hardly ever wrong!

Just then, he started to cry out with pain and all expressions of hope fell to expressions of worry. River felt a pain in her chest as Mr Lux cried out again. She felt responsible for this one; it was her idea to use the teleport when she should've been aware of the evacuation beam intercepting it.

"What's wrong is it supposed to hurt him?" Anita stepped forwards, worried.

"Wait... bring him back!" River ordered. Her anger was stronger than her guilt and it was at boiling point.

"I'm trying!" Other Dave snapped. He was unsure if he could get Mr Lux back from being evacuated.

"Try harder!" River forcefully commanded.

The teleport pad was empty and quiet...

On the monitor it read 'Teleportation failed. Preparing to download...' then moments later '4,023 saved... Download error, aborting download... 4,022 saved.'

"What does that mean? Get him back here!" River demanded. She was panicking. "I can't lose anyone else on this expedition..."

"...I... I can't bring him back..." Other Dave stuttered. His hands stopped tapping at the keys and he lowered them to his sides. "...He's gone..." he finished with a sigh of defeat.

"Oh god... I just sent that man to his death..." River's anger neutralised. She couldn't believe another died; another of her own team. She was blaming herself for everything that has gone wrong. River started to shake out of fear and guilt, the pressure was building up.

"The Library's evacuation protocols must've kicked in when it identified the teleport pad being used..." Other Dave explained.

"...River? Are you okay?" Anita queried. Her concern for her best friend was strong.

River stood still, frozen in shock. She had completely blanked Anita's question. Her bright green eyes were welling up with tears of guilt but she managed to hold them back, for how long? She wasn't sure...

"Come on River, you didn't know that it wouldn't work, it wasn't your fault... We need you to focus so we can get out of here alive and stop the Vashta Nerada." Other Dave comforted her. His placed a hand on River's arm and smiled warmly at her.

River looked at Other Dave for moment. "...Yeah, okay." She agreed with a small smile.

"Shall we start to make our way to the core?" Anita questioned. "...Professor?" she addressed her previous question to River. She nodded in response as she tried to hold back the guilty tears.

Other Dave walked over to the door with River closely behind and Anita pulled it open slowly and quietly. She turned to face the direction of the main core entrance. Cautiously, Other Dave stepped outside and followed the direction that Anita started to pace in. River was the last out of the room and she was just keeping an eye on the shadows at her friends' feet, counting them, making sure they weren't going to leave her soon.

However, they were all completely unaware of the shadowy figure standing in contrast with the evening sunlight on the other end of the balcony.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

The voice broke the moment of intense silence. All three necks of the archaeologists craned around to the source of the sound at the end of the long balcony corridor.

The suit stepped closer to them, extending a threatening hand. Each wobbly and uneasy step it took, River's heartbeat became faster. She knew one of them was going to die soon, and she would try so hard to save them at all costs...


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry about the delay, I've been very busy lately and I still will be for a while so the followong chapters may be delayed longer than the usual two or three days and I apologise now for any inconvience. I hope you still enjoy the story...**

The suit stood, cutting a hole in the sunlight and casting a long, dark shadow along the amber floor. The sun was setting and time was running out, in the darkness the chances of anyone surviving the night a next to nothing. The archaeologists had to hurry to the core if they wanted any chance of saving the Library and the 4,022 missing people.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" the stolen voice echoed.

It took an uneasy step closer with the big boot pounding to the floor as it motioned forwards. The skeleton raised its arm to reach out towards the archaeologists.

"Oh shoot... it must've followed me here..." River gasped. Her feet were cemented to the floor and her gaze fixed on the skeleton.

"We need to get to the core!" Anita panicked. "C'mon, there isn't much time left, Professor Song, we have to go now!" She began to inch further down the long stretch of balcony.

The Vashta Nerada suit inched closer slowly and steadily. Its extended arm, reaching towards its prey as it neared closer.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

"But, what do we do about the suit?" Other Dave asked. He glanced from Anita to the nearing suit. "We can't keep running forever." He knew that she was scared and her favourite option was to run, it may not work this time though.

'Core Self-Destruct in 18:00 minutes...' The faint voice form the computer announced. It announced each minute of change in the countdown.

"Let's just try and outrun it, we might be able to make it to the core before it eats the rest of us." Anita suggested. She always runs from her fears but, this you can't just run and hide from. Her plan was mediocre and there was only a slim possibility of it succeeding.

"No..." River responded sternly. "I want answers first..." She stepped towards the Vashta Nerada with a fearless look in her eyes.

"River, what are you doing?" Anita whispered. "We don't have time to play 20 questions! Let's just start running." Anita tried and tried to convince River to run but, she can't. River always stands by her own thoughts and hers alone.

"Anita... Be quiet!" River snapped back at her. She turned towards the skeleton and grinned "Now, I read in the books that Vashta Nerada live in forests and feed off dead, decaying animals. Not living beings, any explanation?" She questioned the skeleton, feeling quite clever yet baffled simultaneously.

The skeleton lowered its arm and stood still. "We... we want... our forests... back..." the Vashta Nerada struggled to use voice communication.

"...Back? But, there aren't any forests here..." Other Dave pondered. River turned her head and raised an eyebrow to Other Dave. Her golden curls rested on her shoulder as she looked at Other Dave's blank expression.

"Oh aren't there?" she questioned, waiting for him to realise.

Other Dave glanced at Anita, then to River. "Oh..." his eyes scanned his surroundings: wooden doors, walls, tables, chairs and bookcases but, most importantly the books themselves. Wood and paper come from trees and the library is full of both wood and paper- it was a reconstructed forest.

"These were the forests that the Vashta Nerada lived in... until, humans came and made them into this." River explained, now fully understanding. She looked over the balcony at the rest of the Library below. "They're only defending themselves."

"You destroyed... our forests... and we want... vengeance!"

"But, we didn't do anything wrong..." Anita spoke up. Her body was shaking with fear.

"The Vashta Nerada is holding all of humanity responsible... Unless..." River whispered back to her. Her eyes widened as she had an idea come to her "If you let us live, we can help you find somewhere else to go and live peacefully..." River addressed the Vashta Nerada and was trying to strike up a deal.

"We... are only interested in _our _forests!" the Vashta Nerada hissed.

"So much for bargaining with them..." River mumbled out of frustration. "Okay..." she accepted her failure and began to rethink her strategy. "We don't have much time left; there must be something we can do..." River began pacing, still avoiding the motionless suit. "Think... think!" she ordered herself. Her hands placed on her temples, she was trying to concentrate.

Other Dave sighed as he thought, there wasn't much time left so he had to act fast. "You both go the core, I'll hold him off..." he turned to face the girls. He saw the pressure mounding up on River and he couldn't bare the sight anymore.

"What? But Dave..." Anita questioned.

"No." River strongly replied before Other Dave could respond to Anita. She strode over to him "...I'm not leaving anyone else to die, there's been enough death today already..." she breathed with a shaky voice.

"I'll distract it so that'll buy you more time to get to the core, there's no other way, River... Now, enough talking and time-wasting, you have to go." Other Dave bravely said, without any fear in his tone. This was the first dispute he had had with River, and he tried to come up with possible come backs to River's arguments.

River just stood refusing to move, she was always so stubborn. "Oh, Dave I'll try to think of something to get you back safe... We just need a minute to think!" River pleaded, it sounded as if she was giving in but, she was not letting anyone else die that easily. "...Please!" she begged in a trembling whisper. Her last attempt to try and change Dave's mind was pleading- something she doesn't do very often as her forceful and demanding nature usually was enough to convince a person.

"We don't have a minute!" Other Dave snapped impatiently. "...Go!" he ordered. He walked closer to the suit, standing in front of Anita and River protecting them.

"Dave..." River sighed.

Then he sighed and flashed them both a small grin "...I'm sorry." He meaningfully said with a tear sitting on the bottom of his eyelid. It started to trickle down his cheek, as he knew his time was nearly up.

"Thanks Dave, for everything." Anita smiled through a tear. She saw no use in trying to argue with him- his mind was 'more set than concrete.'

"S'alright Anita!" he returned the smile. "Now go, if you want any chance of surviving."

Anita started making her way down the corridor but, she was alone. River was frozen with shock and sadness; she didn't want anyone else to die today. Anita came back and walked over to River and grabbed hold of her shoulders forcing her to come.

"C'mon River, there's nothing more we can do but, head to the core." Anita whispered.

"Dave! I'm so sorry!" River apologised one last meaningful time as she and Anita went through the double doors at the end of the long balcony.

The last thing River saw before the doors closed was Other Dave standing face-to- skull with the Vashta Nerada suit. Shadows were spreading from its feet and Other Dave started to back away from them step by step. Then, the doors eased closed with a click...


	7. Chapter 7

A cry of agony echoed across the Library and penetrated the thick, wooden doors that River and Anita fled through just moments ago.

River felt a sharp and stabbing pain through her heart as yet another of her close friends was sent to their death. The guilt was overpowering. A tear began to form in her bright green eyes and she tried to blink it away, but it just rolled down her cheek. She continued running down the dark corridor filled with books and surrounded by wooden furniture and with each footstep the guilt that loomed over her grew stronger and the pressure more intense.

'...Core Self-Destruct in 16:00 minutes.' The voice counted down further and its tone rang in River's ears as she tried to come up with a quick and efficient way of getting to the core.

"How do we know where the entrance to the core is?" Anita panted as she tried to keep up with River, who was a very fast runner.

"It's somewhere near the main registration office and the shop, but on a lower level." River replied. She turned her head to look around and try to familiarise herself with the hallway they were running in. "If we keep going this way, we should eventually reach the gravity platform that leads to the core." She added.

"...Should?" Anita repeated.

"Well... You see, I'm... not entirely sure which way we're supposed to be going." River gave Anita an awkward smile.

"So we're just running for our lives right now?" Anita started to lose hope.

"...Um... yeah." River replied bluntly.

Their echoing footsteps followed them down a maze of bookcases as time was slowly running out. The almost silence of the Library was broken by the faint sound of yet another agonising scream. The Vashta Nerada had got to Other Dave and devoured his flesh and River dreaded to think how he managed two screams when the Vashta Nerada usually devour their prey whole, within seconds.

River winced at the thought of the pain, that each of them must've felt knowing that they were going to die and then being eaten alive moments later. It's a sickening thought that made her feel nauseous.

Up ahead was darkness... no lights were switched on, no windows, just darkness- a large shadow... or swarm. River froze instantly and Anita quickly reacted to River's halt.

"The swarm, it's right there." River pointed to the darkness. She shone the flashlight that she had kept hold of in front of her and in the light were millions of fuzzy dots floating around.

"Now what? We can't get to the core if there's Vashta Nerada everywhere." Anita sighed, about to give up hope. She glanced back down the corridor as she heard very faint footsteps belonging to two different pairs of feet. "...River, I think we're being followed." she whispered.

"All we need more company!" River sarcastically replied.

"There's no way we can do this!" Anita had lost virtually all faith in herself.

River sighed and she looked around; she was trying to remember where they would be on the map of the Library to determine how close they were to the core. She breathed heavily, the pressure was on and she was getting nervous, she began to doubt whether anyone would survive the infestation of the Vashta Nerada.

She thought for a moment as an idea struck. "Oh, there's a way, Anita. There's always a way... it's just a matter of finding it." She grinned as she reached for her squareness gun in the holster around her leg. She tried to conceal her nerves as she grabbed hold of the weapon.

She aimed the gun to the wooden wall structure next to her and she pulled the trigger. The blue square-shaped beam blasted out and cut a hole straight through the wood. The corridor was illuminated by the bright blue blast.

"That'll work..." Anita grinned. "But, are we any closer to the core?" she questioned.

"...Should be." River shrugged her shoulders, completely unafraid. She looked through the hole and she checked to make sure there were no obscure shadows in the room, and luckily there weren't.

She shone a flashlight inside the room, it was small and circular with a few bookcases around the outside and some tables and chairs dispersed around the room. In the centre was a large pattern on the floor, and nothing on top of it. It remained untouched.

River crouched down and stepped through the hole, one leg at a time. She walked over to the centre and studied the pattern in the middle of the floor. Anita followed behind River and she stopped to take a look around the room.

River walked over to the computer and checked the map. A 3-D layout of the Library came up on the screen. "...Ah-ha! It's just below us, we need to activate the gravity platform and take the ride down there." River grinned, sounding hopeful. "I'm so glad that I fired at the right wall, I mean I only studied the map briefly..." River was pleased with herself.

"Good." Anita smiled as she leaned her shoulder against the wall. "That sounds simple enough..." Anita stood in silence so she wouldn't distract River.

River typed on the keyboard and the floor in the centre of the room opened up with a platform in the middle and a blue light around the outside. "There's the gravity platform. Let's go Anita!" River called over her shoulder. She took several steps closer to the gravity platform and looked at its structure shrouded with a mystical blue light.

She turned around at the unexpected silence. "Anita?" she questioned. Her facial expression was clueless as she pivoted. River's eyes widened in shock as she looked at her sight in front of her...

"Anita... oh no, not you too." she sighed with great sadness. Tears gradually built up in River's eyes, every one of her fellow explorers was dead, she felt so alone and vulnerable. She ran and knelt down beside the skeletal form of her best friend.

The skeleton lay on the floor surrounded by the shredded remains of the white space suit. The ghosting bar on the side of the helmet was already nearly gone, just one light flickering. Anita's ghosting was so quick and sudden that River didn't even have a chance to say good-bye to her spirit, nor did Anita have time to relay her last thoughts.

Out from underneath the suit a large dark shadow expanded and started to spread across the floor. River backed away from the skeleton, her hands were trembling and her feet were numb.

A faint sound started to grow slightly clearer. River's heart was pounding so hard against her chest that it was almost painful for it to beat.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

"You both should go now!"

The ghosting voices of her other colleagues who had met their untimely deaths repeated and the swarms of spores were nearing her position as well as the shadow on the floor creeping closer to her feet.

The fate of the Library depended on the actions of the lone Professor River Song, she was the only one left...


	8. Chapter 8

The Vashta Nerada were closing in on River as the countdown continued. As the dark shadow from Anita's skeleton expanded and was nearing River's position she froze and a chill rose up her spine. The Vashta Nerada were still hungry and they sensed a perfect meal before them, it was their time to indulge...

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

"You both should go now!"

Those voices echoing in her mind as she remembered the stories that were linked behind the phrases. She shuddered and looked at Anita's body lying in a heap on the varnished wooden floor. "I'm so sorry, Anita... I tried and I tried but, I failed to save you." She whispered to the motionless form. The last light on Anita's suit had stopped flickering and it died out, she was gone now, straight after one last apology...

The two sets of footsteps grew louder and louder as they marched down the corridor. River tilted her head towards the hole out of curiosity.

Through the square shaped hole, two human shaped shadows slowly emerged from the edge. River's heart was racing as she tried to stay alive long enough to think of a plan to save the Library and herself. Her eyes darted around the room as an idea struck her and she exhaled her nerves out deeply.

"I wish I could've saved you ..." She repeated to the now deceased Anita as the Vashta Nerada closed in. River rose to her feet and backed away from both the skeleton with its growing swarm and the hole that exposes her position.

River ran over to the computer and pressed a few of the keys. Her plan was beginning to fall into place. The computer screen read 'Platform Disabled' and the gravity platform in the middle of the floor disappeared. She stood in front of the gravity field and she exhaled heavily whilst taking one last look around the room... and she jumped.

As she fell, River felt the painful air resistance coursing through her body. But, the pain didn't matter as long as she made it to the core and stopped the Vashta Nerada. A blinding blue light surrounded her in every direction as she continued to plummet down deeper into the Library.

Her thoughts were racing through her mind almost as fast as she was falling. She felt her heart ache as the memories of her close colleagues dying were relaying over.

Now, her determination suddenly sky-rocketed and it was stronger than ever as this mission had to be completed in order to avenge her friends' deaths. "This ends here..." she confidently said.

She was nearing the bottom as the air resistance became weaker and weaker. The floor up above sealed and River was locked inside the Library core, safe from the Vashta Nerada and shut off from the rest of reality...

The speed which River was falling was slowing down and then, she stopped. River was floating a few inches above the ground. She regulated her balance as she eased herself out of the blue gravity field. Her feet gently touched down on the ground as she began to fix her curly locks that had been nudged out of place from the fall.

'Core Self-Destruct in 10:00 minutes.' The computerised voice notified.

Time was running out and River quickly scanned the room to make note of where everything was. The room was dark as there was minimal light and it was full of many metal machines, loose wires and computers and in the centre- the Library core. The core was a bright orange ball of energy and data that powered everything in the Library. Also, it was deadly if the protection shield around it was penetrated as the amount of data stored in and around the core would burn anyone who comes in contact with it and all of that data would be channelled through to aid in the fight to stop the Vashta Nerada.

She spotted the mainframe computer and typed in some details. The computer was at the foot of the core. The status still read '4,022 saved. No survivors.'

River wired up the computer to the core and to another machine which had various wires coming out of it. She was working quickly then she silently began to cry as she fiddled with various lose wires that she connected to the machine.

Her plan was to set the machine to download the 4,022 saved at the same moment that the Library core explodes so the blast can wipe out the Vashta Nerada which its data has been imputed into the database of the Library. However, the data from the core would course through the wires that River needs to connect when the countdown finishes resulting in her absorbing them and being burnt alive. She knew that the shock of the explosion would relay and end up killing her too, but it was the risk she had to take to save 4,022 lives. This was her biggest sacrifice, a painful death to save 4,022 others; her mind was set on the selfless side.

River walked over to the core and she opened up a panel that was on the side of the monitor projecting the shield. The panel was full of wires and switches, she altered them to change the settings and enter the exact moment at which the Vashta Nerada is to be erased.

"Okay... you can do this, River. You can do this." She mouthed those words of reassurance to herself.

Her hands were trembling as each second ticked away and the end was drawing nearer. She walked back to the machine down the hallway and she switched it on. Her gaze was fixed on the circuit of her doom.

'Core Self-Destruct in 5:00 minutes.'

River listened to the emotionless voice and she sighed. "Nearly time..." she raised her eyebrows as she exhaled in acceptance.

A faint sound chorused through the silence, it sounded like a struggling battle between the sound and the silence.

River turned her head as she tried to locate the source of the sound. It slowly became clearer and louder- it sounded like an engine... But, an engine to what?

River was puzzled, she also felt as if something or someone was behind her. She cautiously turned her head and looked behind her. She was startled and she gasped as a confused look riddled her face. Her curious green eyes looked past the machines and through the dim lighting.

"Hello, River."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I would just like to apologise for the length of my previous chapter, I forgot to post this A/N- oops! It was going to be linked up with the chapter before it but I decided to break the chapters up...**

**A/N2: Okay, now on to this chapter: I wanted this one to be really dramatic and emotional at the same time. It was tough to write and I hope you still like it...**

How was this possible? How could someone else be here, alive?

River pondered for a moment, this person knew her name.

The figure stepped forwards; he looked so young yet so old. His features were so defined and his eyes hold so much mystery and so many secrets.

"How did you get here, and more importantly... how on Earth do you know my name?" River quizzed him stepping closer to the figure. She glared and her eyes never left him; she studied his face trying to place him in her life.

"I'm a time traveller and I've come to save you River..." He explained. His eyes locked onto to hers and the fiery passion burned deeply, igniting his true feelings for her.

The man stepped further into the light and looked deeply into River's eyes. She was so beautiful; he had missed seeing her for so long. He couldn't if he wiped her memory clean of his existence, it just wouldn't be right.

Now he knows what it feels like to be with someone who you love passionately but, they don't even you who you are. He could feel the pain she had once felt in a different time...

"Yes I understand that, but why me?" she interrupted before he could say anymore. Her patience was growing thinner...

"You, Professor River Song, are no ordinary human." He began. "No, you are something even more brilliant... You, my dear, are a human/time-lord metacrisis and yet you survived it- the first ever metacrisis with a time-lord and you survive." He smiled at her. His arms extended in congratulations but, she just stood confused.

"What? Me, a metacrisis with a time-lord..." she stuttered in disbelief.

"Yes, and I'm the Doctor. I'm a time-lord, the last of the time-lords and _I_ have come to save _you_." He explained further as he looked at the machine and stepped closer to it.

"You know me?" River realised. She followed him closer to the machine, not letting him leave her sight and she still wanted a detailed explanation.

"Yes and no... Well, either way I _can't_ let you die here! Just remembering it is painful enough, let alone sitting back letting it happen." He mumbled the last part with a tear forming in his eye.

"But, why don't I know you?" River was growing concerned and her eyes started to water as well.

"It's complicated..." he replied. "And besides, time travellers point and laugh at archaeologists, not become them!" he joked.

River laughed, it was the most harmonic and beautiful sound the Doctor had ever heard. "Thanks." She sarcastically replied through her smile.

"Oh, and seeing as you are the only other time-lord well time-lady, you get my TARDIS when I'm gone. That's Time And Relative Dimension In Space, and it's a time machine all for you." He tossed her the keys across the room. "I knew this was coming so there are notes left around to help you fly her and explain the basics, you know rules and stuff..." The Doctor grinned almost as if he knew she would say yes.

River raised a curious eyebrow at him as she fiddled with the keys.

"I threw the manual into a Supernova..." he admitted before she even asked.

"I didn't say anything." River said in her defence.

"Yes, but I knew you were going to." His eyes wondered to the floor.

"Doctor..." his name slid off of her tongue, he obviously knew her well- almost too well. She began to feel sick in her stomach, this enigmatic man just showing up and meaning so much to her in many inexplicable ways.

River's grip tightened on the keys. She didn't know what to say; after all it's not every day that a stranger gives you a time machine. Every possibility of who this mysterious man is was flowing through River's mind but, none of them seemed to fit.

River stepped towards the Doctor holding the keys tightly and now she was standing just mere inches away from him. Their height difference was quite noticeable, she was as tall as his shoulders and she looked up to his face as he looked down at her. She faintly smiled at him and the smile said 'thank you.'

The Doctor looked at her and his hearts began to ache. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her tenderly but, he knew he couldn't. She didn't know him and it wouldn't feel right, and it would make her feel hurt if she figured out who he actually was. This good bye was painful enough he didn't want to make it hurt anymore than it already did.

'Core Self-Destruct in 1:00 minute.' The computerised voice broke the moment of silence as they stared at each other for too long now.

The Doctor and River lost eye contact for a moment as the voice startled them. The gaze was soon restored as the voice drowned out and the passion was resurrected.

"...Let me do this River, please." The Doctor's voice was barely a whisper. He placed his hands on River's arms and pulled her slightly closer to him.

"I...I don't know..." she breathed as a tear finally escaped her eye. She leaned into his hold and inched closer until her body was gently pressed against his. She could feel his hearts beating gently through the layers of material they were both wearing.

The Doctor stroked River's hair comfortingly and he placed one hand on her face as she pulled her head away and looked up at him again. "... Treat the TARDIS well, and more importantly stay safe. Promise me that River?" the Doctor said as he began to lean down closer to her face.

"...I promise..." she whispered a shaky reply.

"...Good." he responded awkwardly. He sighed and started to pull away from River- resisting the urge to kiss her passionately for the last few moments of his existence.

He glanced over at the computer by the machine and the core it read 'Self-Destruct in 00:30.' And it was still counting down.

"Nearly time..." he tenderly spoke into River's ear and he pulled away and wired himself to the machine. All that was left was to connect the last two wires and the circuit would be complete. He sat down by the machine and held a wire in each hand as he waited for the last few seconds to count down.

River stood cemented to the floor, she didn't know what else to do. She watched the stranger wire himself up to his doom, replacing her.

A tear rolled down her cheek and splashed against the floor. This man, this impossible man must've meant so much to her somehow otherwise she wouldn't feel this hurt. As she tried and tried to place him in her life, the end was drawing closer and closer...

_10..._

_9..._

"But, Doctor..."

_8..._

_7..._

"Yes..." he replied flatly.

_6..._

_5..._

"There's one more thing I want to know..."

_4..._

_3..._

"Who _are _you really?"

_2..._

_1..._

"...Spoilers..."

He breathed just as she did the first time. But, this time was much different she was alive, not sacrificing her fragile and precious life- and that's all he wanted.

He connected the wires and a blinding white light surrounded the whole room. River shielded her eyes from the intensity and she turned her head away. She couldn't bring herself to watch another death, especially one so selfless by a complete stranger enabling her to live a longer life. He was a hero, her guardian time-lord.

And within seconds, it was done... he had done it; he had sacrificed himself to save her- the love of his life. But, he was just a dead mystery in hers...


	10. Chapter 10

The energy of the Library core was coursing through the entire room and the heat was so intense. It must have been a painful way to go, if River was slightly in pain from the intensity of the energy. The heat started to engulf her as she backed away, and then it suddenly stopped...

The blinding white light started to slowly fade away and the room became dark again. The temperature regulated and the energy began to die down. Silence crept in and lingered.

River stood motionless, watching the exact spot where the stranger had sacrificed himself for her, the spot where she could've ended her own life.

Her eyes slowly adjusted to the new found darkness but were blurred by tears building up. She tried to blink them away, to try and stay strong.

The machine where he had given his life was now empty. River stood thinking that it could've been her in that chair, instead of a complete stranger dying for her. "It _should've_ been me..." she sighed.

She still held the TARDIS keys tightly in her hands close to her, it was the only memory of that brave, impossible man she had. She held them close to her racing heart as she began to feel so guilty that it made her ill. A single, lone tear rolled down her cheek as she began to walk away, her heart was sinking.

As she walked, her footsteps echoed in the silent hallway of the core. She was still isolated from the rest of the planet. Faint voices were being projected from above; the Library was alive again but at the cost of six very brave people's lives.

The Library computer registered all 4,022 people were back. As River looked at the screen, a small smile came from the corner of her lips.

"That man... that impossible man." She smiled; more tears began to roll down her cheeks.

For the brief few moments she met him, it felt as if she'd known him for years. This strange man had a hold on her, an obscure hold that made her bond with him. This bond was almost like a bond that only those of a romantic and loving partnership would share...

River made her way back to the gravity platform and she noticed a blue Police Public Call Box standing in the centre. She walked up to it and stroked the edge of the door with her hand and her eyes inspected it as she contemplated whether she should ride it so soon after his death, it would probably be disrespectful and she also had a rocket to fly back to Earth. She couldn't just leave it abandoned at the Library.

River placed some gravitational pods on the sides of the TARDIS and pressed a button, it began to float. With the press of another button, the TARDIS was teleported to Earth in a place that she would remember where it was.

The gravitational platform arrived at the bottom surrounded in the blue light that illuminated the room before. River took a small step onto the platform and it made a quick and smooth ascent to the Library halls again.

The blurry blue light surrounded and illuminated her as the platform rose. River was standing twiddling the TARDIS keychain on her fingers. She felt guilty taking this stranger's ship and flying to goodness knows where going on bizarre, unimaginable adventures whilst he lay dead.

When the platform reached the top it halted so gently. She stepped off the platform into the empty room. Her eyes fell on the spot where Anita's dead body was lying just minutes ago. Her best friend was gone and there was no bringing her back. Anita had always been there for her. "Thank you, Anita... I did try, but obviously not hard enough... I'm sorry" she whispered, saying a farewell to the memory she had of her.

River started to make her way back to the rocket alone. She didn't speak to anyone else who was there, nor did they to her and that's how she hoped it would be.

River pushed open the double doors leading to the balcony where Other Dave had sacrificed himself to the Vashta Nerada. She felt a stabbing pain in her heart as she walked over the exact spot where Other Dave ordered her to leave. She saw his face, every time she blinked, the moment just replaying over and over again in her mind. The moment he left, the moment he died for her.

As she walked, River held her head low and tears were streaming from her eyes as she squeezed them closed. "...I could've saved you... any of you." She whispered, still blaming herself for the deaths. Her eyes glanced over to the room where Mr. Lux was unsuccessfully downloaded. She was tempted to go inside but refused and walked on.

Each step she took was wobbly and uneasy. She was on the verge of collapsing from sadness; she saw almost no point in continuing living if they couldn't.

Through the next set of double doors, River wiped away the tears and picked up the pace back to the rocket. She just wanted to leave and never return to the sight of her friends' murders, it was just too painful.

She was at the hallway which the rocket was parked close to. It was quiet, but still teaming with life. River paused outside the rocket, it would be the first time she had entered it alone. Her hands turned numb as she reached for the door and pushed down on the handle.

With a gentle nudge, it eased open. The cockpit of the rocket was so large and empty. It didn't feel right. River's eyes glanced around at the empty chairs, there should be a person sitting in each.

She imagined the cockpit full of her colleagues, happy and lively. A moment later, she returned to the sad reality of being alone. Her every footstep that she took echoed loudly around the whole room as she made her way to the pilot's seat. It has always been Proper Dave's job to pilot the rocket but, she still had the training and it was time to put it to the test.

"Here we go..." she mouthed the words as she placed her hands on the controller. She exhaled a shaky breath as she started the engine. It was a quiet start as the engines warmed up and River just sat patiently, quietly and uneasily.

Her journey back home had begun. The other archaeologists back home would be expecting the return of all six members of the party, but would be shocked to only see one of them.

River dreaded to think how the families of her colleagues would react to find out the truth. Her grip tightened on the controller as she neared home, her sanctuary. She only wanted to crawl up in bed and cry for her friends. Now she was all alone, those people were the only ones who were always there for her whenever she needed someone.

She exhaled a shaky and heavy sigh as the rocket landed back on Earth. As she stood, her eyes glanced around the cockpit once more and fresh tears began to stain her cheeks as the guilt rose to an out of control level.

The door eased open and River stepped out still sobbing. It was late in the afternoon and no one was around to see her return alone and upset, River was thankful. She ran through the deserted corridors of the station and she managed to run all of the way home, ignoring anyone who tried to approach her.

When she arrived home, the TARDIS was waiting in her back garden where she had left it but, she was more focussed on going upstairs to her bedroom- the one place where she could be on her own to release her emotions without being judged.

She entered her house and placed the TARDIS keys on the kitchen table with her house keys and she ran straight to her room. All hope at her staying strong was extinguished as she neared her bedroom.

She reached the door and placed her helmet outside it. As she forcefully pushed open the bedroom door she threw herself on the bed and buried her head in the pillow as she wept and mourned for her friends.

"...Why me?" she muttered into the pillow accusingly. "...It's always me..."


	11. Chapter 11

_One week later..._

River had finally and reluctantly accepted her friends' deaths...

On the day of her return, she had to go to each of her colleagues' family's' houses and deliver the news, it was heart-breaking. River hadn't returned to work yet, it wouldn't seem right. The only time she had set foot in the building was to give the news on the last expedition to her superiors.

Today was the funeral service for each of them, it had been arranged by the agency that they worked at and the families had approved for the service to be for all five. The service was short and quiet. Hardly any discussions were distributed amongst anyone. Each family had a chance to mourn for their lost one and even then, it was still almost silent.

River could hear her own heartbeat amongst the sobs of the saddened relatives. She was the only person who was not a relative and she was the only one who was mourning all of the deaths, she had no shoulder to cry on and no one to comfort her in quite the same way. She felt alone.

River stood, dressed in black and alone in the cemetery. She had a long black coat draped over her knee length black dress with tights, her golden curls were pinned back into a bun and she had deep cherry lipstick on.

Her sad and disheartened gaze lay upon the monument in front of her which had the names of the five archaeologists engraved on it, but not the mysterious Doctor- who no one has ever heard of. He didn't have any others to mourn him, he was unknown.

The monument was a deep grey stone that stood several feet tall and the names were engraved in a formal and legible font one below the other. River was the one who picked out the monument, she didn't want one that was too decorative or one that was too plain and showed little respect. She wanted a monument to show that they were loved.

There was a slight drizzle of light rain descending onto the stone graves and the dark grey clouds loomed over the cemetery. It was a humid and miserable day; the light rain dampened the grass and created tiny dotted patterns on the concrete.

The funeral had already ended and River was last to leave, she had to say her last goodbyes first and she preferred the privacy when saying a heart-to-heart farewell.

She stepped towards the headstone of the monument and she sighed as the tears slowly built up in her bright emerald eyes. Her feet came to a halt on the grass just a few inches away from the monument. The right words for a last good-bye were hard to think of and River still struggled trying to find them.

River knelt down to come in line with the list of names engraved on the stone. She placed a single deep red rose on the foot of the stone and she reached out towards it. Her hand gently touched the stone and she stroked her fingers over the names, treasuring them. She still felt mostly responsible for each of their deaths.

She pressed her lips together trying to hold back all of the sadness and guilt. At least now they have had a proper burial and that made her slightly satisfied. Her friends were put to rest properly instead of left to rot on the planet of the Library. However, Mr Lux's body was not retrieved as the download error meant that his body could not have been re-uploaded.

The tears began to fall and they landed onto the dark green grass and the foot of the monument. She placed two fingers on her lips then pressed them to the stone- a good-bye kiss addressed to all of them.

River still searched for her farewell words, any words would do. Then she opened her mouth and some words came...

"It doesn't feel right... my name should be there with all of yours, I was meant to die at the Library but, I had a guardian Time-Lord to stop me. If only he came a bit earlier, then he could've saved all of us..." she whispered through the tears. Her guilty conscience was never going to give up, she knew that she was right, she should be dead too.

Then a faint and awkward smile came from the corner of her lips. "...It's not going to be the same without you all in the office. It's going to be so empty and well, I'm going to have to find a new team, get acquainted to them and such..." she chuckled forcefully. Then her face turned sad again and her smile faded. "...I'm going to be so lonely without you..."

She spent a long quiet moment remembering them, all of the good times they've had and all of the places they have been and their success as a team. "We were always the best..." she reminded herself.

River's hand slid across the names again, the stone was so smooth and every letter was clearly and deeply carved. River tried to imagine her name on the bottom of that list, how it should have been if the mysterious Doctor didn't show up. She felt as if he only came by chance, like he wasn't meant to be there but decided to come.

More tears were flooding out from her eyes and she pressed her lips together holding her breath as they fell. "...Good-bye..." she whispered shakily. The cold air had made those words condensate in the cloud of water vapour that had emerged from her dark lips. As the condensation faded her hand left the stone, breaking the remaining memories.

River rose to her feet and she turned and began walking away from the grave. She was walking alone down the concrete path in the rain. She had said all that needed to be said and now was the time to move on.

The cemetery gate creaked as she departed and made her journey home. The streets were unusually quiet almost as if they were all mourning the loss of the archaeologists, the silence was a sign of respect.

River returned home and instead of going through her front door, she went around the back gate. As she pushed it open, the sight that greeted her was the blue Police Box sitting in the middle of the grass.

River stepped in and she pulled out the TARDIS key from her pocket with a small smile. This is the first time she would enter the TARDIS. She placed the key into the keyhole and turned it open. The door eased open and River took a step inside. She paused for a moment to take in the wonders of the time machine.

The TARDIS hummed melodically as she closed the door, it was welcoming her to _her _rightful home. River approached the console and her eyes inspected it and the various sticky-notes dotted around. She smiled as she remembered that the Doctor told her about the sticky-notes and the manual being thrown into a supernova.

"So this is his time-machine... it's beautiful!" River gasped.

Her hands glided over the controls as she looked at several sticky-notes. On some of them were instructions on how to fly the TARDIS, some of the rules and other basic information such as 'Look in the drawer on the Left. The Doctor x'

"Hang on..." River mumbled, sounding puzzled as she re-read the note.

She picked it up and held it on her finger. She looked around the panel for a drawer, and then she spotted it just below all of the controls. It was small and tucked away and River wondered what could be inside it.

Her hand reached towards the drawer and she gripped onto it. Her curiosity was strong and she pulled open the small drawer...


	12. Chapter 12

As the small drawer slid open, River peered inside. Her curiosity was extremely high and her eyes fixed onto the drawer.

Inside, the first thing she saw was yet another sticky-note. It was attached to a small cylinder flask-type piece of machinery. It was grey and blue with a small panel on the side and a beacon on the top.

She immediately closed the drawer after taking out the object with the sticky-note. Her attention wasn't averted from the metallic item as she scanned it.

"...A data stamp?" River questioned as she identified the object. They were common in the 51st century and used widely. "Why does he have a data stamp especially for me?" she asked herself. This man was even more enigmatic than she thought when she talked to him for the brief moments before his sacrifice for her.

She picked up the data stamp in her hands, it was cold. She placed her finger on the bottom of the sticky note and smoothed out the curled end and she began to read it.

'Take this back to the Library and download it to the now safe core.'

River grew puzzled. She began to wonder what was on the data stamp as she tossed it between her hands. What important data could be on this data stamp, and why would he have it?

No matter how curious she was, she had planned to never return to the Library... River felt as if her heart was being torn out of her chest, she couldn't bare being in the Library after the events of last week. She sighed as her curiosity was beginning to overpower her sadness. Her mind was set...

She started to walk around the console and read the various notes on how to fly the TARDIS and she followed every one of them including the one that said 'NEVER use these blue buttons, if you value your existence!' obviously he was lying but, how was River to know?

Each sticky-note explained what part of the TARDIS control panel does what and when she should use it. The notes were numbered in the order they should be used when piloting the TARDIS.

She set the co-ordinates to the Library and the TARDIS began to fade away through the time-space vortex. The engine hummed and the console room vibrated and shook violently as River tried to guide the TARDIS back to the Library.

River questioned why all of the controls couldn't be next to each other to make it a lot easier to fly. She held tightly onto the panel in front of her so she wouldn't be thrown around too much, as this was her first time inside the TARDIS and she wasn't sure if she was flying it right.

Just then, the TARDIS halted suddenly and she was hurled to the floor. Luckily for River, she had quick reflexes and she managed to place her hands in front of her before she hit her head. She lay on the floor and her heart was racing as the adrenalin in her body pulsated through her veins.

River paused for a moment trying to regain her senses after the rough ride. She lifted herself up and brushed herself down and sorted out her hair. Her eyes scanned the floor in search of the data stamp that fell out of her hand. She looked at the lower level of the console room and she spotted it lying on the floor.

She leapt down to the platform below and landed firmly on her feet. She knelt down and picked up the data stamp. As she took hold of it, the TARDIS made a faint but calm humming noise and it made River jump. She pivoted on her heels and turned to the centre of the TARDIS- she was facing the heart of the great time-machine. "Wow..." she mumbled under her breath as she gazed at the centre of the TARDIS' heart.

River took a few steps closer to the centre and she reached a hand out towards it. As her fingertips were planted on the pillar, the humming grew more excited and harmonic and River smiled.

"Who was he? Who was I to him?" River questioned still stroking the pillar protecting the TARDIS' heart.

Even the time-machine recognised her but, surely she would remember stepping foot inside a living time-machine. There was something that she was missing, some key evidence as to who the mysterious Doctor was to her.

She smiled at the time-machine as her hand ran across the smooth surface of the pillar. The beating and humming was so peaceful that River had completely lost all sense of anxiety and worry about returning to the Library. Her emotions were neutralised by the melody of the TARDIS bonding with her.

After a moment of silence and deep thought, River remembered that she had a job to do so she clutched the data stamp tightly in her hand and she walked to the door of the TARDIS. With a mighty pull, it opened and River took a hesitant step outside...

The Library core room looked exactly the same as it did one week ago, apart from no Doctor. She took shaky steps towards the main computer with the data stamp in hand. The machine that he died on was still there, coated in a thin layer of dust now. River felt a stabbing pain in her heart as her eyes rest upon the machine in front of her.

Her footsteps echoed throughout the silent room and her breathing was shallow and uneven. This place... made her scared, the one place in the universe that made her scared. But, she had to know what was on the stamp. River Song always has to know...

She connected the data stamp to the computer and on the screen were details on the data on the stamp. 'Preparing to download 'Anita', 'Miss Evangelista', 'Proper Dave', 'Other Dave', and 'Mr. Lux.'' River couldn't believe her eyes. The data was of her friends, the friends that had died last week- the Doctor must've known all if this would happen.

The Doctor had done this for River to make her feel happy but she still wasn't satisfied. He wasn't there, his name never appeared and there were no records of him on the data stamp. All she wanted was to know who he was...

After the downloads were completed, a note came up on the screen. It read 'Contact time: 11:00 – 12:00 each day.' River glanced at her watch and it was exactly eleven o'clock, the contact time is determined when the download finishes.

"I have time..." she told herself. She was debating whether or not to talk to them so soon. As she thought, she opened up the side panel to the data stamp and inserted new details using the mini keypad.

River was fiddling with the data stamp and her attention was diverted from her downloaded friends for a moment, she had one more important thing to do before she speaks to them...


	13. Chapter 13

River's attention now averted to the computer screen as an image of her friends came up, like a webcam. She beamed a wide smile and her deep pink lips parted as she tried to find words, any words to say to them.

"It's really you..." she breathed as tears were forming. Her hand stroked the screen, trying to feel their presence one last time.

All five of them were wearing white clothes and they were standing in a group in a living room of some sort- presumably their new home.

"River! Long time no see." Anita smiled. Her smile was the warmest and most welcoming and River had missed it so much.

"...Too long..." River smiled in return. A tear streamed down her cheek.

"It's great to see you looking well." Proper Dave added. His pearly white teeth shining as he grinned.

"I wish I could say the same to you but..." River trailed off.

"...We're dead so, yeah. That could be an issue." Proper Dave finished for her. He nodded in acceptance and slightly chuckled.

"How did you survive?" Mr Lux questioned, he was pleased that she did survive but confused as well. "I thought the energy from the core would've killed you."

"Someone else came and wired himself up to the core instead of me..." River felt a pain in her chest. She glanced over her shoulder at the machine that lay in the darkness behind her. She pictured him sitting there, and then wiring himself up and ending his own life.

"Who?" Proper Dave asked.

"The last of the Time-Lords... he came and... gave his life to save me." She replied and then paused for a moment. "He knew me... but I didn't know him..."

"This doesn't make any sense..." Miss Evangelista pondered.

"...I'm part Time-Lady and he knew me but my timeline has been changed so I never met him..." River tried to make sense of the matter; it was complicated for her too. "Or something like that." River chuckled, she didn't fully understand.

"Time-lady, no way!" Other Dave smiled in disbelief and shock.

River was speechless for a moment; she just lightly smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"Are you okay, River?" Anita was concerned about River's silence. "How are things on Earth?" she casually wondered.

"Things are... normal but, to be honest... I'm not really that okay." She replied with a forced smile.

"Why, what's wrong?" Anita was now concerned.

"...It was all of your funerals today, just an hour ago. On Earth, you are all classed as dead and I mourned for you today, thinking that I would never see you again." River explained. "...But, here we are."

"They still had funerals for us?" Mr Lux was shocked to hear and saddened at the thought of his funeral, his friends and family all mourning the loss.

"You are technically dead." River pointed out.

"We're here now though, aren't we?" Other Dave was trying to make River see things positively.

"And I feel pretty alive." Miss Evangelista added on.

"Only because of the data stamp the Time-Lord gave me." River added. "...You're only bits of data stored in a computer, you aren't real." She started to feel upset again.

"But, I feel real..." Miss Evangelista said.

"That's because I downloaded you to the core. The core is safe now, and you have an infinite life inside although it's not really living..." River sighed. "I... I wish you were here with me."

"But you have to move on, River. Everybody dies someday and people just move on. No matter how painful it is..." Proper Dave spoke up with a comforting smile. The others all agreed with his words and smiled as well.

"We'll always be here for you, whether we're real or not." Anita added.

"I know..." River whispered. "That's why I've imputed data of myself onto the data stamp as well, so when I die I'll be downloaded here so I can be with you..." her smile faded. "...Like I'm supposed to be now." She added remembering that she was meant to die. "That's what I was doing before I spoke to you."

"Why?" Anita mumbled in a quiet voice, just below a whisper.

"Oh River, you don't have to-"Other Dave began.

"-But, I wanted to." River interrupted. "...I want to be with you, I don't want to move on." More tears flowed from her eyes and down her cheeks.

"Don't think like that, you have to move on or it'll just hurt and keep on hurting forever; just be thankful that he managed to save you. Obviously you meant so much to him once." Anita comforted.

"Yeah, it's a shame I'll never know how much..." River agreed. She broke eye contact to the others as her eyes wondered to floor in depression.

"Maybe there's a data stamp of him somewhere..." Other Dave wondered.

There was a moment of grim silence and a long pause. It gave everyone time to think, to mourn the death of the mystery man who none of them had ever met properly.

"...So, what now? I mean, what are you going to do about work, have other people been called in to replace us yet?" Miss Evangelista questioned out of the blue and to break the silence.

Anita elbowed her in the ribs to silence her. "...I don't think River wants to talk about that now." She whispered in an agitated voice to her.

"No, no it's fine Anita." River replied. She heard Anita's whisper.

"Well, what has happened to the agency?" Mr Lux restored the question.

"I quit..." River replied sternly and confidently.

Mr Lux's face was in shock. "What, why?"

"...River..." Anita sighed.

"...Because if I have no team, then I have no job there."

Other Dave smiled. "We _were _the best team there, weren't we?"

The nostalgia was mellow and pure as memories of their time together as a successful team were replaying in each of their minds. Success after success, they had made the newspapers, the news, received numerous rewards and have each earned a high reputation at the agency at which they worked.

"Yes we were but we aren't anymore- the team is broken, incomplete... So, I left the agency and now I have my own methods of exploring the stars..." She smiled meaningfully at them."I have a time-machine for crying-out-loud! I can go anywhere and anywhen I choose." River's mood brightened.

"Go... go and explore the stars. Don't let us hold you back." Anita sensed River's excitement and happiness and she knew that them being here was just stopping her from going.

"Yeah, although a visit every now and again wouldn't do anyone any harm." Other Dave grinned.

River laughed for the first time in so long. "...I will." She promised. "Don't worry." She smiled.

"Good-bye and good luck." Anita smiled.

"Thank you." River breathed.

"Now get going! Visit the places we had only dreamed of, go and see the universe!" Other Dave grinned.

The archaeologists waved and said their good-byes, then the hour was up and the webcam to the core switched off and returned to the main screen.

"Good-bye..." River whispered.

River smiled one last time as she turned away and began to walk down the corridor back to the TARDIS, _her_ TARDIS.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: FINALLY! I have the ending finished! Well, now that this story draws to a close I can now finish 'Apologies' and I have started another one-shot aswell and that will be posted when completed.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy the ending, it was tough to write but, I think that this'll do...**

River walked alone down the dark corridor until she came to a halt in front of _her_ TARDIS. The bright blue Police Box stood tall and full of pride in the centre of the corridor, just waiting for her to explore the universe with it.

As she placed the key in the lock and twisted, the TARDIS greeted her with some melodic humming noises. She smiled as she was welcomed to her new home.

"I'm back." She grinned taking a step into the time machine.

The door eased closed behind her and River looked around the console area. As she craned her neck, her golden curls glided over her shoulders and it felt so warm, almost as if someone was there with her and their hands touching her shoulders, the warm feeling she had missed. There were still so many parts of the TARDIS she hadn't yet explored or even discovered.

She traced her fingers along the console and she walked around it. Her attention was diverted to the drawer where the data stamp was found. She began to question herself again 'Who was he? How did he know this was going to happen? Why did he save _me_?'

Although, she had to admit that having someone do all of this for her when she doesn't even recognise them did make her feel important...

River re-focussed as her hand reached towards the drawer again, curiosity was strong. She gripped the handle and gently tugged it open.

Her inquisitive emerald-green eyes gazed inside the small drawer. Inside laid a small blue book that had a pattern similar to the TARDIS engraved on the front cover. It looked slightly battered and old, but worth a lot.

She picked it up and felt each crevice of the pattern with her slender fingertip. River opened up the first page of the book and there was a note inside. It read:

'_A gift for you, my darling River you'll be needing it a lot more than me._

_This book is for you to write down each and every adventure you go on inside the TARDIS, write them down and cherish them forever._

_One day, that book could be one of the millions in the Library as long as you remember. Make me proud, as always..._

_The Doctor x'_

River's eyes began to water as she read the note but she still managed a smile behind the sorrow.

"...I will." She promised him.

Those words he had used in the note had narrowed down the possibilities of the identity to his mysterious identity but, there were still too many to come to a clear judgement.

Just then, something else in the drawer had caught River's eye. She reached inside and grabbed hold of a small object. The drawer stayed hanging open as she took a long look at the item.

The object was long, like a pen and it had a small blue bulb on the top. The handle was black and the rim was copper. She held it in between her fingers and examined it. There was a small button on the side and she pressed it. The object let out a sonic sound wave of some sort.

"So _he_ was the man that I've heard about in numerous stories... the star-traveller that could do the impossible." River realised. "...typical" she smiled, trying to make some fun out of it.

When she was younger, River had heard of many stories about the time-traveller with the sonic screwdriver and he used to save civilizations from great suffering. He was a legendary figure, known and in some cases feared throughout the stars. He was a lone warrior saving the innocent and helping the weak. She had always wondered if he actually existed and if she would ever meet him, and last week she had gotten more than she had bargained for.

River spun the sonic screwdriver between each of her fingers from her index finger to her pinkie and back. This was an odd gift, if it was even a gift but she will treasure it as well as the book.

"He's just full of mystery." She grinned, trying to understand the complex man who cared about her so much.

River walked over to the console and she placed the blue book onto the counter. As she did, her knee hit the drawer that she had forgotten to close.

"...Damn it!" she cursed under her breath, she felt ashamed and embarrassed for being so... human.

The drawer fell to the floor with a mighty thud, just mere inches away from landing on River's foot. She backed away out of instinct to protect herself from the falling drawer. Her heart was pounding against her chest; the suddenness was a slight shock. Her hand placed over her heart to regulate the beating of it again.

She sighed and kneeled over to pick it up. Then, she turned to face the slot where the drawer rests and her head was directly in line to it so there was no reason why she wouldn't be able to fit the drawer back in perfectly.

Holding the drawer just in front of the slot, River froze. There was something at the back of the slot- misplaced or maybe hidden? She reached inside and felt around for the item and she clutched it tightly as she withdrew her hand.

It was a small black, velvet box. She had a puzzled look across her face as she carefully opened the box. And there, sitting on a small cushion was the most amazing and beautiful ring.

The clear, glass gem on the silver band was shaped like a heart, and inside were many swirling lights that looked like the stars of a galaxy. The swirling lights then re-arranged themselves to spell three words... '_I love you'_

River looked in amazement, this ring was beyond imagination and only a man this impossible could own one.

Her eyes caught a glimpse of an inscription on the inside of the band. She moved the ring to make the inscription easier to read.

'_... The Doctor and River's love will last forever.'_

The blank was his real name. River stood staring at the ring; she never thought that she would be the marrying type.

Tears began to shed and roll down her cheeks; she didn't even recognise her own husband- the love of her life. The guilt loomed over her like a dark storm cloud and each rain drop a tear was falling, each clap of thunder her heart would shatter and each flash of lightning she was struck by guilt.

Time just froze around her. Within moments of the stillness, a faint beating echoed through the silence and whispered into River's soul.

The sound was so familiar yet so foreign. Then, all of a sudden... silence. A flash of images began to flood through River's mind, a flow of memories and feelings that she had never felt before until now. The beating was the beating of a Time-Lord's two hearts; she knew it now and recognised it.

It made her head ache, it was so painful but so meaningful- she remembered, she remembered who he was to her, who she was to him.

"Oh, Doctor..." she began through the tears and the flooding memories. "...how could I ever forget you?" she accused herself. "I'm... so sorry, my love."

She slipped the ring on her finger and it stung so much. She had led a whole other life without him whilst he rescued millions of people far and wide still remembering the love they once shared until she forgot.

Just then, River stopped crying, cleared her throat and wiped away the tears, trying to keep her composure. Her hands gently glided over the controls of the TARDIS, more knowingly this time. Her memory had returned after being locked away for so, so long.

"I will bring you back, Doctor!" she vowed. "No matter what it takes, you will come back into my life!" her confidence breaking its way through the heart-break.

The engine of the TARDIS started up and a smile came from the corner of River's mouth.

"Next stop: everywhere..."


End file.
